In performing minimally invasive biopsy procedures, it is desirable to reduce the amount of time, trauma and cost associated with the biopsy procedure while simultaneously providing adequate sample tissue to ensure a correct histological assessment. Various biopsy devices have been developed as an alternative to surgery for purposes of implementing minimally invasive biopsy procedures. While suitable for their intended purposes, such biopsy devices have certain limitations.
For example, a persistent limitation of spring-loaded core biopsy devices and vacuum-assisted biopsy devices is that the tissue sample acquired by such devices may be insufficient or inadequate to make a proper histological assessment. Consequently, the physician or other user may be required to acquire an excessive number of tissue samples from the patient, increasing patient trauma and potentially requiring more invasive surgical procedures to acquire the necessary tissue samples.
By way of further example, certain biopsy devices require structure which can make the biopsy devices cumbersome and difficult to manipulate easily. Consequently, such devices may be difficult for the user to properly position within the patient's body. For example, certain vacuum-assisted biopsy devices exist which consist of a motorized hand-held unit tethered by cable and tubing to a control module. The control module supplies electrical power and vacuum to the hand-held unit through the cable and tubing. The cable and tubing can limit freedom of movement of the hand-held unit making it more difficult to position the hand-held unit and attached biopsy probe in proper position for the biopsy procedure. Biopsy devices which require a control module are also expensive and require a substantial capital investment in both training and equipment.
Certain biopsy devices exist which are hand held but do not require a separate control module. However, such biopsy devices include a design which dictates a relatively large and cumbersome biopsy device.
Certain other biopsy devices may function slowly and in a relatively time-consuming manner. For example, certain vacuum-assisted biopsy devices exist which consist of a reusable battery-powered motorized hand-held unit in combination with a disposable probe mounted on the hand-held unit. These types of vacuum-assisted biopsy devices are relatively slow in operation, thereby increasing the time and trauma associated with the biopsy procedure. These types of biopsy devices also tend to be relatively expensive.
Yet other biopsy devices exist which include features enabling the devices to be fully disposable. However, these types of devices can require manual charging with multiple charging strokes. Such multiple strokes can delay the time required for further operational cycles of the biopsy device if multiple tissue samples are to be acquired. These types of biopsy devices include complex parts and are relatively costly for a hand-held disposable product.
There is a need for a biopsy device which would acquire an adequate tissue sample in each use thereby improving the quality of histological assessment, which would minimize the quantity of tissue samples required and reduce the time and trauma associated with the biopsy procedure, which would operate rapidly and positively to acquire the tissue sample in each operational cycle, which could be constructed for ease of manipulation and use enabling better positioning of the biopsy device proximate the tissue to be acquired, which could be disposable thereby reducing risk of infection, which could be constructed in a cost-effective manner to provide an opportunity to control healthcare costs and which would generally improve the quality of patient care.